There is an inevitability with our pets that so many of us try to ignore until we can’t ignore it anymore: they are going to …
Preparing for a Good Death with your Pet
2021
Another Day, Another Dog: Must Haves in Fostering
One of my biggest and first concerns when I have a new foster coming is that I don’t know this dog. I will (usually) get …
Living with a Senior Dog
For all of us dog parents, if we’re lucky, we go through a universally heartbreaking phase with our dogs: their twilight years. And, building on …
Training Tools: Yeses, Noes, and Maybes
Just as a chef has her favourite knives, or a runner has her favourite shoes, we dog trainers all have our favourite tools and brands. …
The Crate Controversy
Crate training is ubiquitous in North America with pet dogs. It is incredibly common to see dogs being crated while their owners are at work …
Universal Things Everyone Can Do To Help Their Anxious Dog
Fearful, nervous, and anxious dogs have a special place in my heart, but they can be such a handful for their humans; whether their anxiety …
My Four Favourite *Easy* Enrichment Toys (and Their Free Alternatives!)
Dog trainers – myself included – are notoriously obsessed with enrichment for dogs. It is the piece that, in my experience, is missing in a …
Clicker Training 101: What, How, Why?
What the heck is clicker training? Clicker training is a way of training an animal (for our purposes, a dog) using a marker – in …
How to Survive Puppyhood (Without Losing Your Mind)
Because the thing is, it gets better. And the joy dogs bring to my life – even the dogs who cause me those moments of intense frustration – outweighs the frustration tenfold. So here it is, a follow up to that original post: how to survive puppyhood (without losing your mind).
Billy’s Story: aggressive dogs, rescue work, and behavioural euthanasia
Slowly, over that first week, I would sit on the ground in his pen, and I would scatter feed his kibble in the grass. I still couldn’t get a collar on him, but something wonderful happened – he started to be curious about me, he started sniffing me, and – through the magic that is the retreat and treat game – he started taking treats near me and eventually from me.